A halal restaurant franchise is opening a new concept in Crystal City potentially by the end of this year.
The company, PPOVA LLC, has leased a 2,400 square foot space at 2323 S. Eads Street to launch a combination restaurant featuring chicken concept Peri-Peri Original and beef-focused Kallisto Steakhouse, as first reported by the Washington Business Journal in the fall. Both concepts will be halal and were originally launched in the United Kingdom.
This is part of an effort to bring those restaurant concepts to the U.S., particularly Northern Virginia, representatives of leasing agent Rappaport told ARLnow.
A building permit was applied for at the beginning of the month, county records note, and demolition and construction is currently underway. The hope that the business will open by the end of the year, Rappaport representatives said.
PPOVA LLC also owns food court concept Spice Village in Herndon, where both of these concepts are already serving.
This will be Kallisto Steakhouse’s first location other than Herndon and the seventh Peri-Peri Original in the region. The closest current Peri-Peri Original location is in Alexandria, in the same shopping center as Wegmans.
The appeal of this location in the Crystal City area is obvious to their clients, the leasing brokers said. With already established residential and office density, and Amazon’s HQ2 workforce continuing to grow in the area, this is an investment in the future, the leasing reps said.
“[They] are planting a flag today, so when the transition really comes, they’ll be well-established in the neighborhood,” said Rappaport’s Christian Kingston.
Plus, the availability of surface parking is an attractive feature of the space. With the increase in demand for food take-out and delivery options, the restaurant owners wanted a brick and mortar location that had accessible parking.
Serving halal food is also something the new tenant prides itself on, Kingston noted, believing that the neighborhood is lacking sufficient options in that respect.
The combo restaurant is opening only a few doors down from Crystal City stalwart 24-hour Kabob Palace, which serves halal food as well, and next to Shawarma Gyros Xpress.
Rappaport is also looking to lease the space on the other side of Shawarma Gyros Xpress, noting that it remains available for a new tenant.